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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28020786">The Naughty List</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theonewhosawitall/pseuds/Theonewhosawitall'>Theonewhosawitall</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hawaii Five-0 (2010)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Christmas Decorations, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Tree, Family, Family Fluff, Gen, M/M, Santa's naughty list, Tumblr Prompt</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 22:01:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,540</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28020786</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theonewhosawitall/pseuds/Theonewhosawitall</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When helping decorate the christmas tree Steve breaks the ornaments and Danny decides thats what put him on the naughty list. </p><p>Tumblr Christmas prompt: looks like someone's on the naughty list</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Steve McGarrett &amp; Danny "Danno" Williams &amp; Grace Williams &amp; Charles "Charlie" Williams Edwards, Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>76</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Naughty List</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Danny folded his arms and gave a satisfied nod as Steve set his new Christmas tree in the space by the window so anyone walking by could see it too. Steve took a step back and slung an arm around Danny's shoulders like it was the most natural thing in the world. He took a moment to admire the tree. At least he attempted to.</p><p>"What a beautiful tree..." he lied.</p><p>Danny frowned. He knew that tone. Steve didn't approve. "What?"</p><p>Steve gave him a look like it was obvious. "Its a twig."</p><p>Danny elbowed him. He was at just the right height that when Steve had his arm around him like this Danny's elbow was level with his ribs. Steve grunted at the collision.</p><p>"Shut up its all they had," Danny muttered.</p><p>Okay it wasn't exactly the grandest of things. It wasn't the kind of tree you'd expect to find dolled up and sitting in a hotel suite. But it was a fir, and it was still green, and it was taller than Charlie, which was more than most of the other trees on offer. You would have thought Danny learned his lesson about leaving things to the last minute after missing out on turkey at Thanksgiving, but no.</p><p>Steve took a breath, knowing what he was about to say was going to annoy Danny, but he said it anyway, "Y’know I could hook you up-"</p><p>"No way! I'm not having my tree confiscated by Pua again this year! No chance! Now shut up and start decorating!" Danny huffed.</p><p>Steve chuckled. His arm slithered across Danny's shoulders as he walked away, staying as connected as possible for as long as possible before swinging back down to his side. Danny couldn't decide if he hated it or not when Steve did things like that.</p><p>Those small touches that lingered far longer than necessary sent shivers through him. Steve seemed not to notice how heavily he leaned against Danny. Or how close his fingers came to twirling Danny's hair when he caressed Danny's ear. Or how his hand was always just a little too close to his waist when he pulled him in for a hug.</p><p>Usually Danny could deal with the electricity ricocheting through him when Steve touched him like that, but on days like this, when the kids were around, it was harder. Steve relaxed too much. Got too loving. Too happy to be a part of everything. Too touchy.</p><p>It was far too easy to see why people thought they were married when Steve just absently tossed an arm around Danny like he couldn't stand not being close to him at all times.</p><p>"We should start with the lights to hide the wires," Steve announced.</p><p>"Fine by me," Danny shrugged.</p><p>Honestly he didn’t care how the tree got decorated. They finally had someone who was tall enough to reach the higher branches without the use of a chair which got rid of some of the embarrassment that came with being short which meant Danny could just relax. He could enjoy his time with his kids. He didn't care if that meant the tinsel going on first or the lights as long as the fairy went on last.</p><p>Steve puffed out a little air and rubbed his hands together eagerly as he looked for the lights. He paused. He was fairly certain that he had taken a large bundle out of one of these boxes earlier and set it aside to remove the knots. No he definitely had. It was a big tangle of lights, he was sure of it. But there wasn't a bulb to be found around these boxes anymore.</p><p>"Where are the lights?" Steve asked.</p><p>Danny glanced up. His eyes flickered beyond Steve. He licked his lips as a smile formed instantly.</p><p>"Those lights?" He asked.</p><p>Steve looked up at Danny to see him nod his head. Steve turned. He snorted at the sight that laid beyond them.</p><p>In the next room Grace was sitting with her legs crossed on the couch, barefoot, with her hair swept up into a bun on her head so she could see clearly without brushing out of her eyes constantly.  In her lap was a large ball of wires. She had untangled most of them, and to make sure that the parts she had untangled didn’t get messed up again, she was put them somewhere where they wouldn’t cross over other wires.</p><p>She had wound them around Charlie.</p><p>The poor boy was wrapped up like a mummy. His legs were clamped together and his arms were pinned to his side. All he could do was waddle in a circle to collect up more wrappings. But his smile was dazzling.</p><p>"Now that's a beautiful little Christmas tree. All he needs is an angel on top and he's good to go!" Steve chuckled.</p><p>Danny smiled warmly as he watched his son giggle and waddle as Grace continued to drape lights around him. Charlie's sandy mess of hair was so much like his own, and his huge blue eyes took up most of his face like his had when he was young. He even had the same toothy grin that Danny had. One that rivalled sunshine. Charlie was so deeply, obviously, desperately like his father that it should have been blindingly obvious that he was.</p><p>Hell, it had been to whatever stranger had told Danny Charlie had his nose when he was born. Back then Danny had scoffed, but now those words echoed in his head.</p><p>How could he ever have thought that this little angel wasn't his own?</p><p>"Danno? You okay?" Steve nudged him with his full side.</p><p>Danny swayed slightly. It was all he could do not to roll his eyes. Steve didn't need to press that much of his body against Danny. No one did. A small tap with his finger would have done the same trick. Even just saying the words, no touch necessary! But that just wasn’t how Steve worked.</p><p>"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good," he said.</p><p>Steve tilted his head at him. Danny forced a smile to try and ease his concerns. It didn't work.</p><p>"It wasn't your fault Danno. You didn't know. She told you he was Stan's boy and you believed her because no normal person would lie about a thing like that. It's not your fault."</p><p>Danny let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Steve could read him like a book and there was no arguing with that.</p><p>"I know, but-"</p><p>"But nothing. You remember when you broke me out of jail and we got Five-O back together and for the first time in <em>months</em> you couldn't distract yourself from what had happened, you remember what happened?"</p><p>"I started drinking."</p><p>"Remember after that?"</p><p>"No Steve, I was drinking!"</p><p>"You told me that part of you still hoped that kid was yours. That you still loved them. That some part of you was always going to believe what Rachel told you back when you were going to abandon Five-O, and leave me and Kono in jail, and let Chin become HPD-"</p><p>"Hey, that wasn't my fault either! I didn't know you idiots were going to get yourselves caught! If you hadn't Rachel and I would have left, gone back to Jersey, and had a happy life with all four of us under one roof!"</p><p>Steve scoffed, trying so hard not to sound as bitter as he still felt about it, "How long would that have lasted?"</p><p>"Right up until she lied to me about something else probably," Danny sighed.</p><p>"Exactly. But you’ve loved that boy since before she lied to you and we love him even more now," Steve said stubbornly.</p><p>Danny held in a smile. No matter how many times he heard Steve say it it always made Danny happy to hear that he loved the kids too. Because Danny was a package deal. Some people couldn't handle that. But Steve wasn't like other people.</p><p>"Stop living in the past," Steve said, firmly, "It's time for new beginnings!"</p><p>"New beginnings huh?" Danny smirked.</p><p>Steve nodded stubbornly. If there was one thing he had learned over the years it was that you had to let your past go because it was always going to come back to bite you and there was no point thinking about what could have been different. If you didn't appreciate the now when it was happening that would just be another future regret. That had taken him a long time and more than a dozen group therapy meetings to get through his head.</p><p>"Whatever you say Dali <em>lame</em>a," Danny sneered.</p><p>Steve snorted, "Solid burn."</p><p>"I'm off my game today!" Danny huffed, "Go get the old ornaments from the attic would ya?"</p><p>"What's wrong with these ones?" Steve frowned.</p><p>"This one's are plastic and worn and the ones in the attic are ones ma shipped over from Jersey. They're very fragile so if you could be gentle for once in your life-" Danny began.</p><p>"Once in my- I stood through a bomb deactivation with you!" Steve argued.</p><p>"Twice in your life then," Danny sneered.</p><p>Steve smirked. He lowered his tone so the kids wouldn't over hear him say, "I can be gentle Danny. Real gentle. Just ask Catherine."</p><p>Danny's face twisted. He wasn't sure if he should feel disgusted or if he was supposed to high five him or what Steve was expecting, but a sudden jolt of jealousy in his stomach was probably not it.</p><p>Danny gave nothing away. Playing poker and interrogating perps had helped him to develop a perfect mask to avoid showing anyone his true feelings. Even Steve.</p><p>"You ever heard the term TMI?" He muttered.</p><p>Steve grinned. He caught the green sparkled in Danny's eyes before he deliberately looked away. That was more encouraging than any long winded half drunk lectures Kono gave him about how Danny clearly liked him back. Steve bumped against him playfully as he headed for the door and Danny shoved him back.</p><p>"Get out out of my sight, you animal, you disgust me," he stated.</p><p>Steve practically cackled as his foot hit the bottom rung of the ladder. Danny glanced over from the tree. Steve was at the perfect height there to show off the way his arse filled those jeans. Danny cleared his throat and snatched his eyes away to keep from staring.</p><p>"Are you two doing good in there?" Danny called.</p><p>He moved through to the other room to be with his kids. He had to. He couldn’t bare to be in that room with Steve while he was showing off all those toned muscles climbing that ladder.</p><p>Charlie waddled closer to him and beamed, "Look Danno I'm a mummy!"</p><p>"Yeah you are bud!" Danny laughed.</p><p>He rested a hand on the boys head and twisted it gently so he would turn. Charlie waddled in a circle to show off how every bit of him was covered in wires.</p><p>At least these wires weren't going into his skin though. Danny couldn't stand the memory of someone so small so utterly covered in tubes.</p><p>"What'd you say we get this off you and turn that tree into a mummy instead?" He asked hopefully.</p><p>"I'm not done untangling them yet," Grace complained.</p><p>"Well you've tangled your brother pretty well, we'll just transfer that to the tree. You can still deal with this while we do, I promise. C'mon," Danny declared.</p><p>Grace huffed but she didn’t argue. She stood up and started gathering the extra loops of wire and the plugs that went with them. She nearly jumped out of her skin at the almighty crash that came from the front room.</p><p>"Oh shit..."</p><p>Steve stared down from the hatch on his knees. At the bottom of the ladder was a cardboard box clearly marked FRAGILE. The contents of it had been thrown out and were laying in shards around the base of the ladder too.</p><p>Danny appeared in the frame of the hatch. He picked his way carefully over to examine the damage. Grace kept a hand on Charlie's chest to stop him following. He was covered in wires and barefoot. Adding broken shards to the mix wasn’t the kind of thing that ended well.</p><p>Steve's heart thundered as Danny looked up at him and set his hands on his hips. He was expecting to be berated, and honestly, he felt he deserved it. After all these were precious ornaments all the way from Jersey. They clearly meant a lot to him. Now they were broken. Danny had yelled at him for less. But Danny had a twinkle in his eye.</p><p>"Well. Someone just made the naughty list."</p><p>"Danny I'm- I'm so sorry!" Steve insisted instantly.</p><p>Danny seemed unaffected by his apology. "You hurt?"</p><p>Steve gulped. He had to check. His pulse was racing too fast to acknowledge whatever pain he might have felt. Finally he shook his head.</p><p>"No."</p><p>"Good. Idiot."</p><p>"Is Uncle Steve okay Danno?" Grace asked.</p><p>"Uncle Steve is fine monkey. We might have to buy new ornaments though," Danny said.</p><p>Steve groaned. He climbed back down the ladder with a lot more caution than before. It was too late for it now.</p><p>Danny sighed as he knelt down to carefully pick up the pieces of one of the broken baubles. The inside had a silvery shimmer to it, but the outside was glazed pale pink. It had golden glitter written in pretty calligraphy saying, "Baby's First Christmas". It had been a present from Grace, his old partner. She had brought it when she found out Rachel's due date was late in the year. Danny found it in a box when he had to clear out her desk after...</p><p>He had always had mixed emotions about this particular decoration. On the one hand it reminded him of someone fearless to the point of being reckless. Someone he loved dearly, who had never been big on family but was delighted to be part of his. On the other hand, it reminded him of how he had failed her when she needed him most.</p><p>And honestly he didn’t need another reminder that he had missed his other baby's first Christmas. He couldn't decide if he was glad it was gone or not.</p><p>"Danny, I-" Steve began.</p><p>When his voice broke through, Danny suddenly snapped back into the room.</p><p>"Trust you to break all of them you Neanderthal!" He teased.</p><p>Steve looked guilt stricken. He felt awful. Danny could see it in his eyes.</p><p>"I’m so sorry Danny, I'll pay!" He insisted.</p><p>Danny would have told him it was okay, eventually, but it was rare to hear Steve offer to pay for anything. He was frugal with his money. He only paid for things that were important.</p><p>"Great now we're going to have to get <em>Hawaiian</em> ornaments like a surfing Santa or a tiki with a big red nose!" Danny complained half heartedly.</p><p>Steve winced. He knew how much Danny missed Jersey, especially at the holidays. These were probably the only links he had back to his holidays at home, and now Steve had come along and destroyed them. He was going to have to have Hawaiian themed ornaments now which was only going to alienate him further.</p><p>"I'm really sorry Danny," Steve muttered.</p><p>It was all he could say. Danny snorted. Steve frowned. He felt Danny's hand on his arm before he dared to glance up again.</p><p>"Steve, it's fine. No one got hurt, that's all that matters. These can be replaced," Danny lied.</p><p>Steve didn't seem convinced. There were one or two that he could see from here with huge cracks down the centre, that looked handmade. Those weren't easy to find or cheap to replicate.</p><p>"Really?" He asked cautiously.</p><p>"Sure. And if you're paying they can be replaced by the fanciest most expensive ones we can find," Danny teased.</p><p>"Or we could make ornaments this year," Grace suggested.</p><p>In the heat of the moment Steve had forgotten there were children in the house, barefoot. He immediately went to find a dustpan and brush.</p><p>"What'd you mean Grace?" Danny asked.</p><p>"Grandma's tree was covered in home made decorations every year. We could make our own," Grace suggested.</p><p>"Yeah!" Charlie beamed.</p><p>Anything that could make a huge mess was something that Charlie wanted to be a part of.</p><p>"That’s not a bad idea. Cheap too," Steve said.</p><p>"You're all heart," Danny smirked.</p><p>Steve forced a smile but there was still a tinge of regret to it. He gestured to the tree, "Come on Danno, its gonna take a lot to hide this-"</p><p>"Its not that bad!" Danny lied.</p><p>"Danno my toilet brush has more bristles that this," Steve said seriously.</p><p>"Please Danno?" Charlie asked.</p><p>Danny tried to put up a front. Part of him really did want Steve to go out and buy new ornaments with him. The idea of taking the kids and Steve who was basically a big kid too when it came to things like this, and letting them go and buy whatever they wanted to decorate the tree sounded fun. Exhausting and expensive but fun.</p><p>Then again, making ornaments together could be just as much fun, and they would mean a lot more in the long run. Besides, it was almost impossible to resist the small boy pouting at him.</p><p><em>"Fine!</em> One big rule though. No glitter," Danny said firmly.</p><p>There was backlash, mostly from Grace, but Danny held firm on that idea. Glitter got everywhere. It turned a mess that took twenty minutes to clean into a bomb site that never went away.</p><p>"You’re so boring!" Grace pouted.</p><p>"No way, glitter gets everywhere it is not welcome in this house! Not with the walking disaster zone over there!" Danny jabbed a thumb towards Steve.</p><p>"I said sorry," Steve insisted.</p><p>"You’re not forgiven!" Danny lied.</p><p>Steve bowed his head and said nothing. He quietly continued to sweep up the broken shards with Charlie while Grace and Danny went to hunt down some crafting supplies. Grace had a whole drawer full of them under her bed. Years of distant relatives having no idea what she was into anymore had culminated into a whole host of messy toys and games.</p><p>Grace leaned on the doorframe to watch Danny  on his knees pulling the draw out. "Are you really mad at Uncle Steve Danno?"</p><p>"Usually, when he gives me a reason to be," Danny said plainly.</p><p>He usually found a reason to be annoyed at Steve. Some of them were legitimate but some of them were just to wind him up. Pent up feelings had to escape somehow.</p><p>"But are you really mad at him now? Because we don't ever use those baubles, and-" Grace began.</p><p>"No, monkey, I'm not mad at your Uncle. He didn't mean it, it was an accident. No one got hurt and that's all that matters," Danny said, calmly.</p><p>Grace frowned, "Really?"</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>"Because you seem mad. And it wasn't Uncle Steve's fault, you were supposed to be under the ladder to catch the box."</p><p>"I know. And I'm not mad."</p><p>"You should tell him that."</p><p>"He knows."</p><p>"Does he? Communication is a lot harder than people think and if you're not careful and clear about what you mean people can get confused and upset. It can cause people to fight over nothing because they don't understand what the other one means."</p><p>Danny blinked at Grace. His jaw was set to answer but he had no idea what to say.  She sounded just like the therapist he and Steve had been forced to go and see to deal with their partnership issues.</p><p>"Where'd you hear that Gracie?" He asked, cautiously.</p><p>"Mom said that the lady who she and Step Stan go to talk to said that it would be good if I had someone to talk to about how their arguing affects me. I didn’t think I needed therapy but it's nice to have someone to talk to," Grace explained.</p><p>"You're in therapy?" Danny asked in surprise.</p><p>Grace nodded. Danny's mouth gaped. His daughter was in therapy. She had been long enough to memorize things her therapist had told her. And he had no idea.</p><p>"Rachel sends you to therapy, with her and Stan's therapist? And she didn't ask my opinion on this?" He asked, offended.</p><p>"She said you made your opinions on therapy loud and clear in Jersey and we should keep this under our hats. It's only an hour a week and it doesn't eat into my time with you, so I didn't think you'd mind," Grace shrugged.</p><p>"I don't- I don't mind Gracie, I don't mind," Danny insisted. He sighed. "Honestly, I've been thinking about therapy recently and I don’t think its such a bad thing. It's like visiting the doctor right, if you're worried about your body you get a check up to make sure everything's okay, if you're worried about your head you should do that too right? And if she helps you, then no. I don't mind."</p><p>Working with Steve had given Danny a new understanding of what happened when you were too uncomfortable to talk about feelings. Steve hated it. Always had. He didn't tell anyone when he was struggling and it made him self destructive. Literally. Danny couldn't think of any other reason why he would steal a motorbike and headlong up the stairs into a drug dealership.</p><p>As begrudging as he was to admit it, the counselling that they had been sent to had helped him to understand that. To understand Steve. And he had realised that maybe, just maybe, it could have helped him and Rachel if they had reached out for help when they were struggling.</p><p>"See? If you and mom had clear communication about your feelings she would know that," Grace said.</p><p>Danny hummed. "Right... um... I'll bare that in mind."</p><p>He wasn't going to try communicating with Rachel. He was still refusing to talk to her at all to be honest. Ever since Charlie had left the hospital it had been Stan or Grace opening the door to Rachel's house and either Steve picking them up or Danny waiting for them by the gate.</p><p>But she might be right about communicating with Steve.</p><p>Steve looked up with slight urgency when Danny entered the room. He was keen to prove he was making up for his mistakes.</p><p>"We cleaned everything up for you. We did a great job too, didn't we Charlie?"</p><p>"Teamwork!" Charlie beamed, raising his hand.</p><p>Steve high fived him, beaming, "Teamwork!"</p><p>The corner of Danny's mouth curled itself up without his permission. The two of them together were so cute.</p><p>"There's a couple that aren't broken so I've put them on the side for you.  In the box too, just so they wouldn’t fall. I don’t want them breaking too."</p><p>Steve let out a half hearted smile as he said it, but there was a slight pain in his eyes. Danny frowned to himself. He edged closer to Steve, lowering his voice so the kids couldn’t hear.</p><p>"Hey, you know I'm not mad right?" He said, gently.</p><p>"Yeah, yeah, I know..." Steve muttered.</p><p>"No, Steve, I mean it. These are just old decorations ma didn’t have space to store anymore. I  haven't even looked at them in years. I'm really not mad that they’re broken," Danny assured him.</p><p>Steve glanced his way uncertainly. Family meant everything to Danny and these baubles had been in his family since New Jersey at least. He wouldn’t ship them all this way if they weren’t important and he would be furious if he broke something important.</p><p>"Really?" He asked, cautiously.</p><p>"Really. I only brought them here because- well, I'll explain later. But I’m not mad," Danny promised.</p><p>Truth be told he had shipped them here to spite Rachel. He didn't really have a lot of personal items left after the divorce, besides their dog and some old cutlery from his aunt for their wedding present, but he had claimed these. Taken them just so Rachel couldn't have them and had to buy all new Christmas decorations to replace them. It was purely petty. They were a waste of what limited space he had and as such he had kept them in a storage unit for the last five years before finally getting this house and unpacking the whole unit. He hadn't seen or thought about them in all that time. He didn’t care that they were broken.</p><p>"That's great. That's gr- I'm still sorry though, but I'm so glad you're not mad," Steve heaved a sigh of relief.</p><p>Danny felt a spark of guilt for having made Steve feel bad in the first place. He glanced towards Grace as she piled craft paper onto the table in front of Charlie. She had been right about their communication skills. Even though they talked and bickered endlessly, maybe they didn't communicate within that as well as they could have.</p><p>Maybe their therapist would call this a break through but to Danny it was a painful realisation of how easily he could accidentally make Steve suffer.</p><p>Steve suddenly had renewed vigour for crafting now. He didn’t even complain about having to kneel at the coffee table because Danny and Grace had taken the couch. The couch took up most of the room in his old apartment so Danny didn’t bother having chairs. He needed to put them on his Christmas list.</p><p>Snowmen apparently became the theme. It wasn’t an active decision it was just the easiest thing to make. They had plenty of white paint and paper to use and black felt tips to add to them. Charlie was painting a loo roll tube white and got it all over his hands which gave Grace an idea. She took one of their old blue ornaments  out of the tree and pressed Charlie's tiny fingers across it. He left long lines of white paint behind, each one shaped like a finger. Grace let the paint dry before using permanent markers to give them coal buttons, eyes, and carrot noses. They even had scarves and top hats. It was rather charming.</p><p>Danny didn't much like crafting. The stupid goofy thumbs of his that didn’t like texting didn’t like crafting any more. Once Grace mentioned a glue gun Danny was out of there. Steve and guns didn't mix - or rather they did too well. He didn’t want Charlie getting ideas like he had gotten paint into his hair so he took him away to clean him up. Despite his protests Charlie went with him. He left a trail of white finger paint along the walls though. Danny wanted to be cross about it, but it did make the place feel more like a home.</p><p>Their <em>family</em> home.</p><p>He told Charlie off for leaving them, but he made no attempt to clean them off. Every time he looked at them it reminded him of now. Of the broken ornaments being replaced and secrets coming out and Steve cross legged on the floor with paint in his eyebrow. Just like Christmas back in New Jersey. Just like <em>home.</em></p><p>Steve helped Grace and Charlie hang the dried decorations on the tree while Danny filled the house with a mouth watering smell of home made pizza. It would undoubtedly be a plain pizza with tomato sauce and mozzarella and nothing else (and definitely no pineapples Steven you Neanderthal don’t you dare even suggest it!) but it would also taste amazing. Danny had forced Eric to ship him some bottles of tap water after a trip home to New Jersey and he had been made and frozen enough dough to make at least a dozen more pizzas.</p><p>Danny leaned on the doorway of the kitchen as he watched Steve and Charlie get into position. Grace hung the last decoration - a small round one wrapped in brown paper with a red circle, googly eyes and gold pipe cleaners hot glued onto it like an odd reindeer - and stepped back. Once she was clear, Steve gripped Charlie by the waist and hoisted him up to sit on one of his shoulders in one swift move. Steve held onto him firmly but instinct told Danny to stand behind them, just in case Charlie fell. That was partly to do with the way that Charlie was leaning haphazardly side ways to reach the top branch of the tree in order to fit the ragged little fairy doll on top.</p><p>Steve adjusted Charlie to sit over both his shoulders once it was on, and linked an arm around Danny's.</p><p>"What'd you think Danno?" He grinned.</p><p>Danny tilted his head at the tree. It was still small and slightly bare and definitely the only one left on the plot worth having. Now though it was wrapped in golden tinsel and had home made ornaments dangling from it in a way that no professional would ever dare to allow. It was messy, stubbornly hot glued together, and some would call it an eyesore. But it embodied their family. For all the mess and ugliness, it was full of love and fun and so stubbornly stuck together it would never come apart.</p><p>Danny smiled to himself. "I actually like it better."</p><p>"If course you do. it's cheap. Matches the tree!" Steve teased.</p><p>Danny laughed but he pushed him playfully. "Get out. Out of my house. Give me my son and go. Out!"</p><p>Steve laughed back but he did sweep Charlie off of his shoulders and set him back on the ground.</p><p>"Can I give you one present before I go?" He asked.</p><p>Danny folded his arms. "Depends what it is."</p><p>Usually Steve would have just snorted because whatever present he was given Danny would love. Even the ridiculous ones. He had a fuss of refusing to even put on the red and green elf socks he was given once, but they were still tucked away in his emergency go bag upstairs. Right now though, Steve didn't laugh. If anything, he looked a little cautious.</p><p>Steve ducked into the other room for a moment and returned with one last baubles. He hesitantly handed it to Danny, who took it just as hesitantly.</p><p>"What is this?" He asked as he turned it over in his hands.</p><p>Steve ran a hand through his hair and explained, sheepishly, "I glued bits of the broken ornaments together to make one brand new one. It's a little bit messy, I'm sorry, but it's the best of the old to go with the new. Grace helped. A lot..."</p><p>Danny's eyes didn’t leave it as he kept turning it over and over in his hand. It looked like a mosaic of a disco ball. Some kind of Frankenstein decoration made up of other decorations that had been further broken to fit together. It had taken time and effort.</p><p>And he had ensured it still read "baby’s first Christmas" clear as day.</p><p>Danny gulped. It reminded him of someone stubborn to the point of being reckless, who always tried to make up for things when he made a mistake. Someone he loved dearly, who didn’t fully remember what it felt like to have a family of his own but was an integral part of his.</p><p>Danny was never going to let this one down.</p><p>"It's... tatty..." he began.</p><p>Steve winced, "I know, I'm sorry, I'll take it back-"</p><p>As Steve reached for it Danny snatched it away from him protectively.</p><p>"No you will not! Let me finish!" He huffed.</p><p>Steve blinked in surprise. He relaxed back into his original stance to allow him to continue. Danny admired the ornament again like it was a tennis sized crystal ball.</p><p>"It's tatty, and it's loud and it's destructive. It's just like you. So it will fit perfectly on my family's tree," he said, firmly.</p><p>Steve's mouthed opened but no words came out. He watched as Danny carefully hung it on the tree, pride of place for all to see. Steve's creation sat clear as day beside Charlie and Grace's. Just like his stocking hanging on the wall. He beamed with pride at how well it all seemed to fit together.</p><p>"It looks great," he declared.</p><p>He slung his arm around Danny's shoulders to pull him closer as he said it. Danny smiled back up at him, ignoring the way his ears were burning pink.</p><p>"The surfing Santa is still my favourite though," Grace declared as she drew it out of the box.</p><p>Danny groaned, "You are such a bad influence on my kids!"</p><p>"I am not! You're too perfect anyway they need someone to lower the bar," Steve grinned.</p><p>"I hate you," Danny lied.</p><p>"No you don’t you love me," Steve snorted.</p><p>Danny stared at him for a second, before snatching his eyes away and looking down to hide the way his cheeks flushed pink. One of these days he might have to face up to the fact that he definitely loved Steve. More than that, he was <em>in</em> love with him. But today they were already a family and he was just going to enjoy it.</p><p>"You staying for dinner?" He asked.</p><p>"I thought you'd never ask," Steve grinned.</p>
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